National Consumers League statement on FCC actions promoting media diversity and competition

Washington, DC – The National Consumers League today applauded the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its vote to attribute the Commission’s media ownership rules to Joint Sales Agreements between television stations. NCL also applauded the Commission’s unanimous vote to prohibit certain joint retransmission consent negotiations by broadcasters.

The following statement is attributable to John Breyault, NCL Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud:

"The promotion of diversity, competition and localism in the media is central to the FCC’s mission. It is therefore imperative that agreements allowing broadcasters to avoid the Commission’s media ownership limits be prohibited, absent a compelling public interest reason that they be waived. The Commission’s action today rightfully supports consumers’ access to a wide variety of voices on the nation’s public airwaves."

"As NCL has stated in the past, consumers should not be pawns in the seemingly never-ending retransmission fights between billion-dollar cable companies and media conglomerates. The FCC’s action to prohibit certain joint retransmission consent negotiations by broadcasters will help prod all parties at the table to focus on the best interests of their ultimate customers – bill-paying consumers."

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Its mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.